Sporty’s Adds App That Works With CarPlay

Sporty’s Pilot Shop has been providing training to fledgling pilots of all levels for a couple of decades. Its latest effort is combining online training with Apple’s CarPlay System, allowing pilots to seamlessly continue their training on the road.

“We have been working on our Pilot Training platform, which is really the entire connected suite of apps, for about eight years now,” said John Zimmerman of Sporty’s. “The CarPlay feature has been in development for the last year. 

“Apple has some very specific requirements for a CarPlay app, so it was a new challenge. Our goal is to make our training available anywhere, which is why we've been steadily adding platforms every year,” he said.

Apple developed CarPlay in 2013. Originally, CarPlay allowed users of the iPhone5 and above to access a few select iOS communication and media apps with touch screens on the dashboard in certain cars via a Lightning cable to a USB port in a CarPlay-supported car. Today, it can be done wirelessly. The apps, which can range from entertainment and communication to navigation show up as icons. These apps allow the car occupants to interact with commonly used apps without the distraction of looking down at a small screen on a mobile device.

The Sporty’s training icon appears as a blue square with a propeller in the center. The app allows pilots to listen to the audio segments from just about every course the company offers.

Zimmerman said that in addition to training new pilots, the app will help more experienced pilots, too.

“We expect really all types of pilots to like CarPlay, but one thing we’ve consistently heard is how useful the course can be as a refresher,” he said. “Beyond just initial training, it’s smart to occasionally review the content and stay sharp. The audio-only option should make it easier to do that,” he said.

In addition, the app includes free demos of each course, so you can sample them before purchase.

Access to any of Sporty’s 25 aviation training courses can be purchased from Sporty’s website. Each course purchase includes lifetime updates and unlimited access to all platforms, including mobile, online, TV, and CarPlay.